Another fall season has arrived, and if you’re like most people, you are cleaning for fall. This time of year is a great time to clean because the temperatures are cooler, and the days aren’t as hot and are unbearable. Doing so lets you weed out what you don’t need and prepare for the upcoming holiday season.
Fall cleaning isn’t just physical cleaning; it’s also a time for spiritual cleaning. It's time to take stock of what’s going on in our spiritual lives and what may need cleaning or to be taken out with the trash, so to speak. Doing so lets us get our homes and hearts right with the Lord.
“Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from anything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1, NLT)
This verse perfectly motivates us to get our homes and ourselves in order.
The kitchen is often the hub of the home. This is where we share meals, stories, and make memories. However, it can also be where we take comfort in the wrong things, like food and desserts. It’s easy to overeat or indulge in too many sweets because of emotional issues, hormone changes, etc.
As we clean our kitchens, let us eliminate the temptations around us and replace them with healthier options. More fruits and vegetables and less junk. This isn’t easy to do, believe me. I’m a chocoholic, and I love to bake. Sweets are my downfall and something I struggle with. Still, our bodies are a temple, and we must do our best to live a healthy lifestyle. Don’t let this part of cleaning overwhelm you. It’s okay to take baby steps; every small change counts.
We eliminate dust and dirt in our living rooms by vacuuming, dusting, and washing our throws and throw pillows. We could change out the plug-in or replace a wax melt in the Scentsy pot to add some fresh fragrance. We are doing all we can to make this space enjoyable for our family and guests.
The living room is also where we gather to watch entertainment. The Bible tells us that what we take in, we become. If we let garbage in, garbage will come out. This fall, take a second look at your entertainment choices.
Don’t get me wrong; not everything will be squeaky clean. For example, shows about police officers will have some gore in them; that is part of the job. The question is, how much is what you’re watching showing? We’ve been watching Blue Bloods, and I love it. Things happen, but the gore factor is pretty tame compared to what you see on cable. Themes like violence, sex, affairs, and other unsavory things can affect our perceptions and convince us that these things are okay. Take stock of what you are watching and how it’s affecting you, and take the garbage out.
I’ll be honest: It’s very hard to find a decent show or movie these days. We have turned on many shows with great premise only to turn them off a few episodes in because they have too much garbage in them. My point is, we all have to be careful about what we watch.
Oh, the bathroom. This is the grossest room in the home to clean. It’s full of disgusting things and bacteria. Especially if you have kids, you never know what you’ll find. (I used to work in daycare, I know.) But it's like a whole new room once everything is clean with fresh towels on the towel rack.
Our hearts and minds can become like bathrooms, sometimes full of ugly thoughts and feelings. We need to clean our hearts and minds regularly. If you have been struggling with thoughts and feelings that you shouldn’t be having, ask God to forgive you and help you overcome these things.
Our bedrooms can get full of clutter, especially if you have a desk in your room that becomes a catch-all. Closets can get crammed with stuff we don’t need. Sometimes our bedrooms become storage rooms for the other clutter in the house that we don’t know what to do with.
Our minds can become this way, too. Full of clutter and a mass of tangled thoughts.
As you clean your bedroom and go through your closet and other clutter, ask God to help free you from your cluttered thoughts and to bring clarity to your mind. Talk to him and tell him about what’s going on in your mind. He is listening and wants to help you.
If you have a desk in your bedroom, the desk in your home office can be a catch-all too for mail, bills, receipts, etc. As you clean up the clutter in your office, ask God to help you clean up the clutter in your life.
Clutter doesn’t have to be only stuff. There can be other things cluttering up your life, like an addiction you need help to get under control, working too many long hours, or letting a hobby take over. We live in a fast-paced society, and often, what we think is important isn’t as important as our families and other relationships. We must clean out the clutter in our lives to have happier, healthier relationships with those who matter.
If we’re honest, our basements, attics, and garages are full of things we don’t need. Many of us hang on to things because we think we’ll need them someday. This is how attics and basements get full of boxes, and garages are full of ‘stuff’.
We do this with our own thoughts and perspectives as well. Sometimes we hang onto beliefs, ways of thinking, etc, because it’s comfortable. Other times it’s because it’s hard to change, because we have thought this way for so long. Alternatively, an experience or upbringing can be the cause. If you have been hanging onto some thoughts and perspectives that don’t align with the Lord, ask him to help you let these things go. Ask him to renew your heart and mind so that your thoughts and feelings align more with him and less with the sources from which your current thoughts came.
We can make our houses look immaculate, but we can’t clean our hearts and minds ourselves. If you are struggling with your thoughts and feelings, it’s okay. Our world is a broken mess, and we are only human. Sometimes, it’s normal to be mad, sad, confused, or upset. But it’s how we react that makes the difference. As you are doing your fall cleaning, ask the Lord for help with your thoughts, feelings, or anything else you have been struggling with. He wants to help and clean you from the inside out so that you can shine with His light again.
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